


Ask For It

by theleaveswant



Category: True Blood
Genre: Bloodplay, Community: kink_bingo, Consent Play, F/M, Knifeplay, Multi, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-01
Updated: 2010-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-11 09:33:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/110936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theleaveswant/pseuds/theleaveswant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Jessica heals Hoyt with her blood, she has a fraught conversation with Tommy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ask For It

**Author's Note:**

> For the "consent play" square on my 2010 Kink Bingo card. Set immediately after 3x10, mostly written before but generally harmonious with 3x11.

Hoyt moaned and pulled Jessica into his lap, interlocking their legs so that rough denim rubbed the insides of her bare thighs. She couldn't stop watching the bite on his arm, consumed with the thought of bringing it to her lips, completing the circle, lathing him all over with her tongue while it healed until every drop of blood was gone and there was no sign at all that he'd been mauled. So consumed, in fact, that it took her a moment to register that the wound had closed and that new blood had stopped pouring from the injury he'd apparently forgotten, but was still trying to keep elevated.

"Stop," she said, squinting her eyes shut.

He didn't listen, kept slurping at the tear in her wrist. It hurt, but at the same time it felt so good she never wanted him to let go. She tried to yank on his hair to get his attention but it was too short, so she pressed her palm to his forehead and pushed his head back. He blinked up at her, and it wasn't just the darkness making his pupils go wide. She'd never imagined it would be so thrilling to see someone high on her.

"Your arm's better."

Hoyt stared, for a moment bewildered that this appendage belonged to him at all, then tried to stroke her cheek with his bloody fingers. Jessica flinched away, fangs aching with the desire to feed, to hook into him like one animal, and the fear of losing control.

"You saved me," he said dreamily. "I love you. You're so beautiful."

"I love you too," Jessica repeated. She petted his hair, which was supposed to be soothing but instead made him hum and squirm. His clean hand splayed over her tailbone, pulling her closer to him.

"Can we?" he asked, grinding his trapped hard-on against her crotch. He licked his lips, sticky and red.

Jessica blinked. "I, um." The sound of scrabbling on the gravel made Jessica look up, panicked, but it was just a raccoon trotting across the parking lot toward the restaurant. "Not here. Come on, we have to get you cleaned up."

"What happened to that dog?" Hoyt said as she helped him to stagger over to the tap at the side of the building.

"I've no idea, but good riddance to it." She hosed as much blood off their arms as she could, wringing it out of his sleeves, then rolling them up to hide the stains and tears. Her own shirt was ruined, but that would be alright as long as she could sneak back inside without being seen—all the Merlotte's staff kept spare uniforms at work, even the undead hostess.

Jessica splashed cold water on her face and helped Hoyt do the same. It seemed to sober him up. Jessica too; she could still smell the blood, but it was easier to retract her fangs once they were no longer smeared with it. Easier for her sick unease to gel into something almost understandable. Harder to look Hoyt in the eye.

"I'm sorry I—thank you." He frowned. "Are you mad at me? You seem kind of . . ."

"I'm not!" She said, too fast. Confused and scared, maybe, not mad. "It's just—I'm still at work, technically, and I've already been gone too long. I don't want to make trouble, 'specially after last night."

"I understand."

"Look, I really want to—can we talk later? After I'm done here? Don't wait inside, it'll be too distracting. I'll call you?"

"Okay," he grinned, all filled up again with that sweet puppydog energy. "I'll be waiting for you."

He kissed her, tenderly, and Jessica could taste her own blood on his breath. "Are you okay to drive?"

"No problem," he said, brushing her hair away from her face, then he loped, weaving a little, back to the parking lot. Jessica clapped her hands to her face as soon as he turned his back, but managed to hold back her sob until he was around the corner.

"Oh, hell!"

She sniffed and ran back inside, determined not to cry. She was supposed to be happy to have him back, damn it! She blurred past Terry into Sam's office and eased the door shut behind her, then just about jumped out of her skin when she noticed Tommy sitting in Sam's chair, barefoot and shirtless. She saw for the first time how scarred up he was in the light filtering in through the window and flashing off the kitchen knife in his hand.

"Tommy, what the fuck?!"

"That's a real good question," he said, eyes on the blade.

She stepped toward him, "What are you doing with that knife?"

"Not a whole fuck of a lot, so far."

"Were you just going to cut yourself?"

"No," he sneered. Jessica did her best impersonation of Bill's bossy face, then switched to Eric's, which proved more effective. Tommy huffed irritably and slapped the knife down flat on the desk beside him. "I dunno, maybe."

Her expression softened and she took another step forward. "How come?"

"It's a bad habit, okay, whatever." He hunched his shoulders and stared at the floor, face in shadow. "I ain't done it since I been livin' with Sam. Thought I didn't need to anymore. Seein' as the longer I go without doin' it the more I fuck things up, maybe it's time to start again."

"What have you fucked up?"

"'Cept I can't fucking do it now, not with Sam watching me! It was easy before, Mama and Joe Lee never paid much attention and I was always scratched up anyway from fighting and running in the woods. Ain't much he can do if he did catch me, he knows I'll get out if he tries to lock me up, but . . . I already know he hates me, I don't want him to—" He cut off with a high whine like a crying dog.

"Tommy . . ." Jessica knelt in front of him so that their heads were on a level, but he swivelled the chair a bit so they weren't quite facing. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I thought things would get better, after Sam asked me to move in with him. I thought he actually wanted me around. I thought I'd get to do what I wanted for once instead of always looking out for my folks. And then I met you and—but Sam doesn't want me. As soon as I get here he starts in trying to get rid of me, telling me I should go to fucking college. I can barely even. . . . the hell does he think I'm gonna do in college?"

"My daddy threw out all my college application packages," Jessica said, sitting back on her heels, "before I was kidnapped and turned. Maybe it'll be okay, though. My maker Bill tried to get rid of me, but I refused and now he's finally teaching me useful stuff about how to be a vampire."

That seemed to perk him up a bit. "How'd you change his mind?"

Jessica bit her lip. "I cried blood all over his shirt. It was really gross, and I don't recommend it."

Tommy snorted and shook his head. "It won't be okay, not now. It's my fault he went all Hulk on that dude in the bar last night."

"How'd you figure that?"

He fidgeted, rocked the chair from side to side, pushing on the floor with his toes. The way he dragged the words out, like hauling water from a well, felt like it must have been sincere.

"I was getting into him, pushing his buttons like a fucking retard. Kept calling him a pussy, which I know is total bullshit, but I just . . . I tried to tell him that this morning but it came out wrong onnaccounta I'm an asshole and an idiot who can't keep his foot out of his mouth. I'm just lucky he was so hungover, 'cause when he sobers up and blames me like he oughta . . ."

He reached over to twirl the knife on the table beside him, a two-fingered flick on the hilt. It whirled all the way around twice, glinting, and stopped with its blade pointed at Jessica. Like 'spin the bottle', she thought, except she never got to play that.

"Do you want to bite me?" he asked, quietly, shaking a little.

Jessica blinked, unsure how to answer. "Do you want me to?"

Face still angled away, Tommy flashed a shadow of that reckless grin. "Do you want me to want you to?"

Jessica frowned. She didn't, as had been repeatedly pointed out to her over the past weeks, know very much about being a vampire, but the bits she had learned suggested some difference of opinion on whether or not she was supposed to. Tommy didn't ask whether she was supposed to. "I don't know," she said honestly.

"You can," he said. "If you want to."

She stared at the floor. Of course she could if she wanted to, she was a vampire. She could do whatever the fuck she wanted, or near enough where he was concerned. She was pretty sure that was supposed to be an invitation, the indifferent tone a weak disguise, but . . . "You were talking about Sam."

"How many people have you bit?"

"Not many." She could feel him watching her now, and was her turn to avoid eye contact. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You didn't bite the sixth-grader."

It took a beat to realize he meant Hoyt. "No, I never did."

"But you gave him your blood."

She looked up, defensive. "No!"

"Yeah, you did, I saw you. Just now in the parking lot. It's all over your goddamn clothes!"

Jessica blushed furiously. How had she not noticed him watching? "Well yes, but that was the only time. I made him drink it. And I didn't want to, only he was attacked by this crazy motherfucking pit bull and I had to heal him!"

Tommy looked away again, scowling. He snarled "fuck-up!" under his breath, then tipped his face to the ceiling and inhaled deeply. "Jessica, I like you a lot. You're one of the only things I think about. I was even starting to think you liked me too—stupid!—and then you go running back together with that loser—"

"I haven't," she shook her head, "and he's not a loser."

"You said you loved him."

She glared—he really should not have been able to hear that. "I do love him. I just—I kill people. I've killed people, and I'm scared he'll come to his senses and hate me once he finds out. And I'm—" she sucked a deep breath, unsure why she felt compelled to tell him this yet somehow grateful for the excuse, for being spared telling him under other circumstances. "I was a virgin when I died, which means my body's still—I don't know if there's anything I can do about that. And I do like you, Tommy Merlotte, and I don't know what to do about that either!"

"Dump his ass!"

"I can't!" She flinched at the volume of her own voice, certain the entire restaurant could hear them, and dropped to a whisper. "Not now."

Tommy growled and launched himself at her, grabbing the knife as he lunged. He tumbled Jessica backwards and came up straddling her, holding the blade against her throat like he knew how to use it. Jessica's eyes narrowed, lips parted to show her fangs, a cold rage inside her screaming that this was more warning than he deserved. He was strong for his size and hot as an oven, but not more than she could handle.

He panted once, twice, then pressed the knife against the pulse point jumping in his own neck. "You don't want me. Sam doesn't want me. I can't go back to my parents. Give me one reason not to do this."

"You're not serious."

"Maybe I am. Maybe I just want you to save me. Do you really want to call my bluff on this?"

"Do you really want to call mine?"

He shrugged, a twitch of one shoulder that didn't shake the blade. "If it's the only way to get you in my lap like you was in his."

Jessica snarled and bucked upwards, knocking him back on his ass. She plucked the knife from his hand and threw it away under the safe, then crawled on top of him, all in the space of a heartbeat. A nick on his chin welled red, made her mouth water, but she willed herself to ignore it. She grabbed Tommy by the scruff and shook him. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want to be with you," he said, staring fiercely up at her, "like you really are. Sad and shy and hot and scary. I want to make you feel good. I want you to hurt me. I want you to want to hurt me and for it to be okay."

"You just think I'm hot 'cause I'm a vampire."

He shook his head as much as his position allowed. "I'd say the same thing if you weren't, that's the funny part."

She laughed bitterly, eyes prickling, and ran her tongue across the points of her teeth. "That's the first time anyone has actually asked me—I've drank from people who hang around us cuz they like being bit or they like getting paid for it. I've drank from people because they pissed me off or tried to kill me. I even drained a guy because, well. Because he was there, and I could, and because the way he looked at me made me feel kinda slimy."

Tommy had relaxed into her grip, breathing heavily. He was frightened and excited, like Hoyt had been with his lips on her wrist, but this time there was no V. As astounding as it had been to watch someone high on her blood, to feel them get the same way just from her . . .

He barely winced when she yanked his head up by the hair, their faces close enough to kiss, one pulse pounding in his throat and groin. Her trembling lip brushed his bleeding chin, and without thinking she darted her tongue out to clean it off. He tasted like dirt, sweat, metal and the sound of a moan. She had to close her eyes.

"That guy I killed? I teased him the way you're teasing me now. Easy, like I didn't even mean to. Offering him something he wanted, something I had no intention of giving him, just to get him in a place where I could take what I wanted."

"What makes you think I don't want to give you what you want?"

"The fact that you're not listening to me." Jessica let go of his hair and wiped her bloody lip on the back of her hand, then wiped that hand on his bare chest. "I don't only want one thing. I don't think you even know how good all that stuff you said to me sounds, but I can't just break up with Hoyt again, not now. Not even if I am sweet on some cute, messed-up . . ."

She traced her fingers over one of his scars, the kind of mark she'd never seen on a person, but then she guessed she hadn't seen that many people. "Don't hurt yourself 'cause of me, okay? And don't pick anymore fights, 'specially with Hoyt."

"What're you gonna do?"

She sighed, feeling her fangs finally fold out of the way again. "I don't know. Make a pig's ear of things, probably. I just need some time to talk to Hoyt and figure out how I feel. If he doesn't want me once he knows, well." She glanced at the clock. "Shit, we both gotta get back to work."

Jessica scrambled off of Tommy and helped him to his feet, then went to her cubby to change her blood-crusted t-shirt. She kept her back to him and when she turned back around he was right there behind her, reaching up to stroke her hair, her throat. She returned the gesture, then twisted away before she gave in to the urge to kiss him.

"Tommy?" Jessica paused at the door. "Make things right with Sam, for real this time? I don't want you to get sent away."

**Author's Note:**

> Vampires, angst, bloodplay, intoxication &amp; implied DUI, knives, teasing, some ableist language, discussion &amp; threats of self-harm, attempted (not completed) coercive/forced sex and blood-drinking. Surprisingly optimistic ending.


End file.
